A Glimpse
by Kaleyanne
Summary: The Kuwabara siblings are chased by a demon one dark night... The catch? They're not even ten years old.


_**A Glimpse**_

The sun had already sunk far beyond the horizon, and the stars' glimmer was weakened by the city's light pollution. Still, they were fighting, and could be made out, if one tried hard.

The streetlights would normally render such celestial bodies useless, but the streetlights were tucked into neat rows along the streets, as their name suggested. The children in dire need of a light to run by, however, were edging farther from the city each time their feet hit the ground. Each 'thud' or 'thump' was another inch further from light, from civilization, from safety… The children's senses were screaming at them to turn around and head back. Red lights seemed to flash behind their eyes. 'Danger! Danger!' it yelled.

But the danger of being lost paled in comparison to the danger awaiting them if they happened to turn around.

The younger of the two children was a boy named Kazuma. He was four years old, and definitely much too young to be out alone at night. He was currently busy wondering how things had gone so wrong that evening. It had started out simple enough. Mama had dropped him off to play with his friend for the day, while she and Papa attended to Important Adult Things. His big sister, Shizuru, had been instructed to swing by on her way home from school, and escort him home. She had done so; his friend's house was practically the halfway point between home and Sis's elementary school.

They passed a park on the way home. Kazuma felt something odd in there, but there was a family of kitties in the park now. Mama had said that when the kitties were old enough, he and Sis might have one for a pet. Kazuma had wanted to go and visit them.

He still had a twinge of doubt, as they entered the dense foliage; odd for the middle of a city. It hadn't helped that Sis had stood there yelling at him to get going. To her, the twinge of doubt felt more like a hurricane.

Still, Kazuma had pleaded. And he begged. And he promised to clean his sister's room. He had even made the supreme sacrifice of saying she could name their kitty.

Grumbling, Sis had finally said yes, they could take the park route home. It was shorter, anyway, she had added, more to herself than Kazuma. Which was just as well; Kazuma was not listening anyway. He had skipped several yards ahead, and occasionally ducked underneath a bush, looking for the mama kitty and her babies. He may have allowed Sis to choose the kitty's name, but no way was she choosing which kitty they took home!

They never did find the kitty family. Instead, they found the huge, red monster-thing that was chasing them out of the city. It had yelled something horrible upon finding them; all the kids were sure of was that it wanted to eat them.

Not knowing what else to do, Kazuma and his sister ran. They followed the sidewalk out of the park, and kept running; they passed the Yukimura Diner, Sarayashiki Junior High School, the Las Megas arcade, and a dozen other places the children had barely had time register. That had been a long time ago; the city was growing fainter. They were coming upon the forests outside of town. Mama and Papa took them out into these woods on the weekends; they camped out and waded in the River Sticks…

Still, they had been running so long that Kazuma was growing tired. Weaker. He was bigger and stronger than most boys his age, and even some older ones. Even some of the seven year olds that were his sister's friends thought his grip too strong. He could outrun most of the children on his block, and lift more things than they could.

None of this changed the fact that Kazuma was just four years old. He was tired, and it was getting close to his bedtime. So it was no surprise when he stopped and leaned over to grab his knees.

"Sis, I can't run anymore," the boy panted. "My feet and my legs hurt too much."

Shizuru turned around. "Kazu, don't even start," she gasped. "That demon is gaining on us every second…"

The seven year old looked her brother over. Even in the dark, she could see that his face was flushed redder than a cherry. His forehead looked damp, and his red curls were pasted to the back of his neck. His knees were unsteady, she noted with great dismay, as the grunts and growls of the tired demon reached her ears.

"You can keep running," Kazu added after a moment. "Maybe if he eats me, he'll be too full and too tired to find you, too…"

Shizuru reached out and smacked her baby brother upside the head. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" she snapped, her temper getting the better of her. "If you stay here, he'll kill you. If you keep running, _I'll_ kill you. Who would you rather be killed by, you idiot!"

Kazuma glanced back at the demon; he was close enough that the children could see his fangs gnashing together, sweat beading on his forehead, arms swinging, drool flowing down his multiple chins like water down a hill…

"…Can I think about it for a minute…?"

"NO!" Shizuru screamed. She snatched Kazu's hand and began running again, dragging him along. "I'll help you," she added, forcing her panic and stress down, coaxing up the sisterly affection she held for her brother… somewhere… "But no sacrifices, okay? If he ate you, I'd make him eat me, too…"

"So you could find me and hit me some more," he grumbled, rubbing his head with the hand not caught in Shizuru's death grip. "Okay," he said, "If you're going to force me… I feel energy coming into me…"

"That's the spirit," Shizuru said encouragingly, squeezing Kazuma's hand again. "It's your second wind. Or adrenaline. That helps you run when you're scared."

"It's energy," he argued. "Some sort of weird force, it's the same feeling I get when ghosts come to visit…"

"Okay, if you say so… I guess I kinda feel that way, too," Shizuru said distractedly. "Kazu, we can't run forever."

"Duh."

She hit him again. "I mean it, kid. We gotta find a place to hide."

Kazuma chanced a glance back at the demon-monster. "Better be a small place, so he can't get through…"

"Good, good, now you're thinking," his sister murmured. "Or somewhere up high… the top branches of a tree…"

"It wouldn't support his weight!" Kazuma chimed in.

"Right!" Shizuru exclaimed. "We need to find a tree to climb…"

There was no shortage of trees out in that forest; the River Sticks kept fresh water constantly flowing to nourish the greenery. The trees often swelled upwards of twelve feet. Shizuru in particular was incredibly fond of climbing the local trees.

But that was usually with Papa at the foot of the tree, standing under the branch she was sitting on. His arms were usually open wide, yelling "Hang in there, Shizuru!" up to his daughter. She had indeed slipped or missed a branch on her climbs… and every single time, Papa had been there to catch her.

Now she had to be the catcher; she had to worry about catching Kazu! And she had to choose a tree, fast… She was beginning to feel fatigued. The burst of energy in her body was beginning to die, and to leave her sick and tired. And sleepy…

Kazu was practically asleep on his feet, by way of comparison. If big sister couldn't hold out much longer, baby brother was definitely doomed. She yanked on his arm absently, trying to stir him up; Meanwhile, the demon was still catching up. Shizuru could feel tremors in the ground as his thick, huge feet pounded against it… Faintly, she could hear the enraged panting and puffing he was working up from chasing them so long… She fancied she could even hear his massive stomach rumbling and growling…

"Sis! That one!" Kazuma yelled. "Hurry up, it's not too much further…"

Tiredness could go back home, the boy told himself sternly. He was the man, and Sis needed his protection. Even if she did hit him every chance she got… He took his turn on yanking his sibling's arm out of the socket, and dashed towards the tree with newfound speed. The energy thrumming in his veins had spiked up a little. It was not exactly like the energy he felt when the neighborhood ghosts dropped by, but it was similar… This new energy had strength behind it, though. Strength to keep running and to protect his sister… He would take it!

The tree was a familiar one, Kazuma was not really surprised that he had chosen it. Two weekends ago, Mama and Papa had taken them to the forest for a picnic… They had sat under the tree Kazuma now stood before. He could see Mama laughing at a joke Papa told, trying to not to spill the lemonade she was pouring…

He shook his head furiously, as he brought Sis to the base of the trunk.

"Grab the first branch," his sister instructed, age taking over again.

"But…"

"Do it!" Sis snapped. To emphasize her point, she wrapped her arms around his waist and lifted him up a few feet. It was definitely a strain on her, Kazuma knew. He was sure she had not been able to pick him up since he was a baby. Proof of how desperate and scared she was. He got the hint, pulled himself up, and offered her his hand.

Shizuru grasped Kazuma's offered hand and swung herself up as best she could. Growling at the four year old to keep going, she reached for another branch herself. Grab and pull, grab and pull, she chanted to herself.

"Hurry, here he comes!" Kazuma whispered urgently.

"Hurry yourself!" Shizuru hissed back. "We need to go high, but not too high! The smaller branches won't hold us, either!"

"I know," he murmured. "I know, Sis… but… I'm scared…"

Shizuru sighed softly. It was the first time either of them had admitted it all night… Or ever. At least in a long time, she amended. Ghosts passed through their backyard daily, some smaller, nicer demons played with them after school. Neither of them had ever been afraid of the supernatural…

"I'm scared, too," she admitted. "But I can kinda forget about it, you know? It's not going to bother me, as long as we get up to the top!"

Kazuma didn't answer. He just kept climbing.

Sis had almost caught up to him when the tree shook violently, causing the children to lose their grips. Kazuma recovered quicker, though, and reached up again. His small hands didn't quite fit around the branch, but he held on anyway. He didn't want to be eaten. He didn't want Sis to be eaten after him. He didn't want to end up like Shuu Nakano, the boy who disappeared in the park last summer and now haunted the swings, causing big kids to fly off and break limbs. Or Eri Ueda, the girl who got a ride to school and told the Kuwabara kids to be wary of Mr. Ichino the day before her wake.

He was stirred from recollections of his friends by a yelp from his sister. She had slipped, he realized in horror, and the horrible shake had been the demon beginning to climb the tree!

"Sis!" Kazuma yelled, "Sis, grab my hand fast!"

"Shut up and keep going!" Sis yelled back, struggling to regain her footing. She was not dressed for climbing. Her elementary school was an especially good one, and therefore required a uniform. A blouse with a knee-length skirt… It was getting tattered now, as she tried to use her knees to push herself up from her branch. The thin fabric was taxing to her knees and legs; cuts were forming and getting infected.

"Not until we're even," Kazuma called back down. "C'mon, Sis…"

"Stop disobeying me and GO!"

"You're not Mama!"

"HrrrrrrrRAURRRGH!"

The demon's fierce grunting put an end to the discussion, and Shizuru gave in, allowing her brother to steady her. For his part, Kazuma tried his hardest to help her regain her footing, and pointed out handholds.

But the child's efforts were in vain, as another mind-blowing shake rattled the tree. Shizuru's grasp on the tree faltered yet again, as the demon jumped up and bear hugged the trunk. Kazuma yelped in shock as the higher branches swayed dangerously.

Sliding his arms up and pulling the rest of his body after, the demon inched up the tree as best he could. There were time delays, as he maneuvered around knots and branches, but they were meaningless, hopelessly insignificant. The Kuwabaras were dealing with their own time delays in the form of Shizuru's school uniform and the demon's thunderous abuse of the climbing tree. Eventually, it evened out.

The demon's fierce anger at his obstinate meal was slowly morphing into fiendish delight. He could smell the spirit power and fear exuding from the children… Delicious! The little girl still hadn't quite recovered from him jumping on to the tree. Her ankle dangled precariously before him, a tempting morsel. Another pull and it would be his… He reached eagerly, but she jerked away as soon as she felt him… Damn her! The rotten little wench!

Shizuru swallowed as she felt the demon's claws brush against her sock. This was cutting it much too close! And so soon! Just a few more feet and they would be beyond his reach…

She stifled a little yell as he came closer to grabbing her. She couldn't keep this up; sooner or later he wouldn't miss! Daringly, she attempted to kick him back, but missed herself. Still, the girl was too frightened to turn around and aim, particularly since that would involve stopping. There was no way she could climb while trying to kick the demon. There was no way she could stop and make it out with her life.

"Hruaurgh!" the demon grunted, taking another shot at the little girl's ankle.

Shizuru couldn't quite swallow her scream this time as she felt a hot squeeze on her ankle. Caught! The demon was yanking on her leg now, and her fingers were slipping; this time she screamed with all the force her lungs allowed. A shrill, piercing, childish cry, one would have expected to be accompanied by streaks of tears.

Still, Shizuru was a little fighter. Very little would she take sitting down. Or hanging from a tree branch. She swung her other leg experimentally, but winced as he attempted to grab it, too. The only thing her effort accomplished was causing the demon to lose his balance for a moment.

Still, it wasn't enough. Kazuma had stopped dead in his tracks at his sister's scream, and was trying to find a way to get her out of the demon's grasp. She was attempting to kick, she was yelling a few things that he was _sure_ she could have only gotten from those teenagers who lived down the street, her hair was mussed, and she was breathing hard… That tiredness was coming back, but Kazuma decided to ignore it. There had to be a way to help Sis!

Unfortunately, the only thing that came to mind was the bedtime stories their parents told them, of fair ladies being held captive by fearsome dragons and strong knights who rescued them, swords flying…

That was not going to work, though. Kazuma had no swords and he certainly was not a knight.

He needed a new idea… He looked around, surrounded by nothing but branches and leaves and nothing else! Kazuma could have hit something just then, there had to be something…

His sister yelled again, as her swinging kick compromised her grip on the branch. Kazuma was running out of time… She was being pulled now. The demon had great strength…

Crick, criiiiiiiiick… crack… 

The branch was snapping!

Kazuma needed a way to save his sister from that breaking tree branch, but his mind was flooded with his mother's voice about fair damsels in distress and noble steeds. Sis wasn't a damsel, and she certainly wasn't fair, but she was in distress, all right!

Swords weren't going to help, that branch was breaking, but he couldn't save her by imagining a swor—

Swords, breaking branches…

Desperation growing like a brushfire, Kazuma's forehead was dampening yet again… Without thinking, Kazuma reached up to the next branch, gripped it with both hands and _pulled_. With all the might that had stunned the seven year olds, the teenagers, and even the adults, Kazuma pulled on that tree branch. It bent, it cricked, it crackled a little more, but it had yet to snap…

That strange energy the ghosts and the demons seemed to ignite in him was creeping back into his veins, warming him up… He had to save his sister!

One more mighty, Herculean tug produced a loud, bone-shattering '_craaaaaaack_,' and down the branch came. Kazuma didn't pause to admire his feat, he just leaned back over to where his sister was still snapping at the demon; miraculously, she hadn't lost her grip. The special, fiery feeling must have been helping her, too!

Kazuma brought the branch up over his shoulder as best he could, barely mindful of his location and footing, and with all the force he could muster…

"HAAAAAAA-ah!"

…Brought it straight down on the demon's head!

The demon let out a loud groan of pain, and let go of Shizuru's ankle in favor of grabbing the bump on its head. The girl used the opportunity to aim a last kick at his temple, and landed a direct hit! Another moan and the demon had completely lost his grip; he fell to the ground, the loud 'thump!' nearly uprooting the tree.

Shizuru lost no time in trying to pull herself up, but Kazuma stopped her.

"The branch you're on is gonna break…"

"Then find me a new one," she hissed, voice quavering slightly. Kazuma offered his hands, and using the last dregs of that strange energy, pulled Shizuru from the breaking branch, and up to the one he perched on. It just barely held the two of them, but they were still only halfway up the tree.

"How did you break that branch?" Shizuru breathed, parting the leaves to try and see the demon on the forest floor.

Her brother shrugged. "I pulled," he said simply. "A lot," he added, after thinking a moment. "It scraped my hands, they hurt."

"Lemme see." Sure enough, they were bright red, as near as she could tell in the dark. They would probably be sore for a while. At least he wasn't bleeding…

She couldn't help but stare at her brother.

"That should have been totally impossible."

He shrugged again. "I'm sleepy, Sis. Is the demon still there?"

"Yeah…" She looked down again. "I think he's asleep. He might even be dead."

"Dead?" her brother repeated.

"That thing where Grandpa went away? And we had to wear the uncomfortable clothes? That's how Eri and Shuu became ghosts, Kazu, they're dead."

"Oh. That." Kazuma yawned; there was no fighting the tiredness anymore. All of the energy inside him, the natural and the strange, had been sucked away as soon as the demon hit the ground. There was just an overwhelming need to fall over and sleep for a week… Kazuma yawned again. Or two.

Shizuru poked her brother's shoulder. "Not yet," she said. "Just a little higher…" She yawned herself. "Or you know what? This branch should hold us a little while longer…"

"We can't sleep here," Kazuma protested. "We need to go home, before Mama gets worri…" He cut himself off with another yawn.

"Kazu, I don't even know where Mama and Papa are…"

"Can they find us?"

"Of course." She had all the faith in her parents children her age were supposed to have.

Kazuma decided to take a quick look for himself at the demon. "What if he wakes up?"

"Hit him again." She pointed to the broken branch they had left sitting in the foliage.

"What if I fall out of the tree?" he asked. "Mama will get really mad at you…"

"I KNOW, Kazuma, shut up," Shizuru snapped, her fatigue kicking away her gratitude for being rescued. But she sighed… That cruel joke called 'sisterly affection,' which forced her to care about her idiot baby brother, whether she wanted to or not, had cropped up again.

"Come here," she instructed tiredly. She wrapped her brother into a tight, exhausted hug. "Now if you fall out of the tree, I will, too. So Mama has no one to get mad at. I'll even let you use me as a pillow, okay? Just go to…" She yawned once more.

"'Night, Sis," Kazuma sighed sleepily. "Don't wake up the demon."

The screen went blank.

"Koenma, are you saying that all of this time, all of these years, you've known that Kazuma and I have so much reiki that we could run several miles in a matter of hours, as _children_?" the present-day Shizuru demanded.

"Yes. That is exactly what I am saying."

"Why, you… and you've never told us this because…?" Kazuma prompted. "Tell me quick, or I swear I'll knock you six ways from Sunday!"

Koenma sighed. "I never told you because I didn't think you needed to know. But since Shinobu found out, after getting rid of that demon who chased you, he was our detective then, you know, and since he was able to use those abilities against you…"

"You finally thought it might be a good idea?" Shizuru finished. "Unbelievable."

"For what it's worth, I thought you might be happier not knowing," Koenma said dryly. "It's almost entirely subconscious. Uncontrollable."

"Like all of my other abilities," Kazuma interjected. "I'm kinda getting used to it…"

"Well, those have improved with practice," Koenma said fairly.

"Or extreme emotional distress…"

"Well, I never expected it to make any difference! Shinobu and Itsuki found your parents, told them you'd probably sleep for a few days… And then when neither of you remembered anything of the ordeal…" he shrugged. "Forgive my judgment."

"Maybe later," Kazuma snapped. "As soon I'm finished being angry!" He looked the god straight in the eyes. "If we were still anonymous little humans to you, that's one thing. But we're not; we got dragged into all these affairs with Urameshi. We got dragged in with _you_. Koenma, I thought we were friends!"

"First off, you dragged yourself into it," Koenma answered coolly. "Second, it took me awhile to make the connection… I never did get your names before, okay? I'm _sorry_. But you both are unbelievably powerful people… And when I did make the connection, I wondered… I thought it would be best not to burden you. I didn't want to make you feel like you had to be a hero."

Shizuru snorted. "Too late. My idiot brother already feels like he has to be hero."

Koenma smiled, despite himself. "So he does. You were who you are even then, I guess. But still… Being a hero gets people killed… And as much as I hate to admit it, I like you two. And I _don't_ like it when people I like get killed."

"Aw, Koenma, that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."

"Don't get used to it."


End file.
